Apparatus for feeding tobacco and like material



Feb. 23, 1943. v c w GOQCH, ]R 2,311,747

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING TOBACCO AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed Aug. 5, 1941 2Sheets-Shet 1 Feb. 23, 1943. c. w. GOOCH, JR

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING TOBACCO AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed Aug. 5, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 2 gbwcm fom M,MMW

a um MA Patented Feb. 23, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claiborne W.Gooch, Jr., Richmond, Va., assignor to Molins Machine Company, Inc.,Richmond, Va., a corporation of New York Application August 5, 1941,Serial No. 405,558

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for feeding tobaccoand like material, and has for its principal object the provision ofmeans for supplying, to a machine for treating or operating on the same,such quantity of the material as may be required by the capacity of themachine.

Thus the invention is especially applicable to the feeding of tobacco toone or more tobacco cutting machines, in which the tobacco is shreddedfor subsequent delivery to cigarette making apparatus, and it is one ofthe features of the present invention that the tobacco supplied to eachsuch machine shall be just suflicient to ensure a constant supply oftobacco thereto. In the event a plurality of tobacco cutters areemployed, all may be served from a single source of supply, but theamount of tobacco delivered to each cutter may be determined by thecapacity of that cutter.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide, inapparatus for feeding tobacco or like material to one or more machines,means whereby the material is moved along a support having one or moreopenings therein through which the material is discharged to the machineor machines, in combination with closure means for said openings, theclosure means being intermittently and automatically operated to permitthe delivery of material to any machine when the supply for that machinefalls below a predetermined minimum. In th preferred embodiment of theinvention, the tobacco is moved along the support by means of a conveyorprovided with spaced vanes, the closure means is moved to closingposition in the direction of movement of the conveyor, and such movementis timed with the conveyor movement so that the closure means isdisplaced along with one of the vanes across the opening, wherebyjamming of the material in the opening is prevented.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in apparatus of thecharacter described, a

. continouus conveyor for delivering material to one or more spacedpoints, wherein the conveyor is supplied from a hopper, and is soconstructed and arranged as to return to the hopper any undeliveredmaterial.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, showingapparatus embodying the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of thestructure shown in Fi ure 1; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of certain of the moving elements shown inFigure 3.

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference willbe made to the several embodiments thereof illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and specific language will be employed. It willnevertheless be understood that various further modifications of thedevices illustrated herein, such as would fall within the province ofthose skilled in the art to construct, are contemplated as part of thepresent invention.

In Figure 1 the invention is shown as applied to the feeding of tobaccoto a plurality of tobacco cutters. These cutters, indicated generally atI0, may each include as the essential elements thereof a hopper llthrough which the tobacco is delivered, a travelling belt conveyor 12feeding the tobacco forwardly toward a mouth, not shown, in which thetobacco is compressed into what is called a cheese, a knife (not shown).which shreds the cheese as it emerges from the mouth, and a chute l3through which the shredded tobacco is discharged, for example onto aconveyor belt.

It will be appreciated that the details of the several machines form nopart of the instant invention, since such machines may assume manyforms, for instance as shown in the patents to Molins et 2.1. 1,933,181,granted October 31, 1933, Molins 1,939,511, granted December 12, 1933,or Langrish 2,157,457, granted May 9, 1939. Alternatively, the materialied may be shredded tobacco, and the machines may be cigarette makingmachines, or material of distinctly different nature may be fed anddelivered to one or more machi-ies for treating the same in accordancewith the principles hereinafter outlined.

Disposed above the hoppers H is a support l5 which extends lengthwise ofthe several hoppers and is provided with a plurality of spaced openings,one communicating with the upper end of each hopper. In the preferredform of the invention, the support 15 constitutes the bottom wall of atrough I6 which is formed to provide at one end thereof a supply hopper[1, a continuous convevnr I8 serving to deliver material to the hopperH.

A conveyor 20 is supported on guide rollers 2| disposed within and atopposite ends of the trough Hi, this conveyor being provided withlongitudinally spaced fingers or vanes 24 which are so dimensioned as tosweep along the support I5 and carry the material in succession past theseveral openings over the hoppers ll, excess or undelivered materialbeing carried upwardly at the end of the trough l6 and returned by theconveyor 20 to the supply hopper I1. While the elements 24 are referredto hereinafter for convenience as vanes, each such element may comprisea plurality of rod-like members spaced transversely of the conveyor, theconstruction of the vanes depending upon the nature of the material tobe conveyed.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 3, it will be observed that aplate 26 is pivoted at 21 adjacent the upper end of each hopper I, theplate 26 lying within the hopper and being supported for swingingmovement from the position in which it is shown in full lines, adjacentthe side of the hopper, to the position in which it is shown in dottedlines, in which it is spaced from the hopper wall. The plate 26constitutes one arm of a bell crank lever, the other arm 28 of which isprovided with an adjustable weight 29 which may be shifted lengthwise ofthe arm 28, and which serves to urge the plate 26 toward the dotted lineposition. The corresponding positions of the arm 28 are likewise shownin full and dotted lines, and it will be noted that in the upperposition of the arm 29, corresponding to a position of the arm 28against the hopper wall, the former engages an electrical switch 3|,whereas in the lower position of the arm 29, a second electrical switch32 is engaged. The function of these switches will be hereinafter morefully described.

A closure member 35 is associated with the opening in the support l5above each hopper Each closure member is supported for displacement fromthe full line or operative position, in which discharge of material intothe hopper is prevented, to the dotted line or inoperative position, inwhich the opening in the support |5 communicating with the hopper isexposed, so that material may fall into the hopper from the trough I6.To facilitate displacement of the closure member 35, the latter may besupported on a horizontal panel 3! by a plurality of rollers 38rotatably mounted on the closure member. It will be noted that themovement of the closure member toward operative position occurs in thedirection of movement of the conveyor 20.

Connected to each closure member 35 is a link 39 which is pivoted to theclosure member and to a crank arm 48, the latter being freely rotatableon a shaft 4|. A wheel 42, also mounted on the shaft 4|, and providedwith peripheral slots 43, is driven in timed relation with the conveyor28, for example by means of gearing, not shown, for driving both thewheel 42 and the conveyor 20 from a common source of motive power.Pivoted on the crank arm 40 is a pawl 45 having a nose 46 dimensionedfor reception in any one of the peripheral slots 43 in the wheel 42; aspring 48 acts between the pawl and the crank arm 40, normally urgingthe pawl in a direction to effect such engagement with the wheel slots.Movement of the pawl in the reverse direction about its point of pivotalsupport is limited by an abutment 5|, mounted on the crank arm 40 andpositioned for engagement with the tail 52 of the pawl.

Detents 55 and 56 slotted as indicated at 51 and 58 respectively forreception of the tall 52 of the pawl and the abutment 5| are pivoted onthe supporting frame structure and disposed at opposite sides of thewheel 42. The detent 55 is normally urged in such a direction as toengage the tail 52 of the pawl 45 by means of a spring 6|; similarly, aspring 62 urges the slotted arm of the detent 56 toward the path ofmovement of the tail 52 of the pawl. A solenoid 64 in an electricalcircuit, including a voltage source 65 and the switch 32, is connectedto the detent to move the latter against the action of the spring 6|when the switch 32 is closed. A solenoid 61, likewise connected incircuit with a voltage source 68 and the switch 3|, rocks the detent 56in a clockwise direction against the action of spring 62 when the switch3| is closed.

The operation of the mechanism thus far described will be apparent. Thusmaterial delivered to the supply hopper I1 by the conveyor I8 is movedalong the support |5 by the conveyor 2|], past the several openingscommunicating with the several hoppers II. If the hopper associated withany given machine H] is filled with material up to the point indicatedby the dotted line A, the plate 26 will be held by the material in theposition in which it is shown in full lines in Figure 3, against theaction of the adjustable weight 29. When, however, the supply ofmaterial in the hopper |l drops to the level indicated by the dottedline B, the weight 29 will swing the plate 26 away from the hopper walland into the dotted line position, and the arm 28 will simultaneouslyengage and operate the switch 32 to close the solenoid 64, so that thedetent 55 is swung in a counter-clockwise direction to release the tail52 of the pawl 45. The nose 46 of the pawl 45 will then engage theperiphery of the wheel 42 and will fall into one of the slots 43 oncontinued rotation of the wheel, under the action of the spring 48,whereby the wheel 42 and crank arm 40 will rotate together, and by meansof the link 39 the closure member 35 will be displaced to the right soas to aiford communication between the trough l6 and the hopper Rotationof the crank arm 48 will continue through approximately at which timethe tail 52 of the pawl 45 will engage with and be received in the slot58 in the detent 56, the latter being urged in a clockwise direction bythe spring 52 on the opening of the switch 3|. When the tail 52 of thepawl is thus engaged, the nose 46 of the pawl is withdrawn from the slot43, and since both the tail 52 of the pawl and the abutment 5| arereceived in the slot 58, the pawl is retained out of engagement with thewheel 42 which continues to rotate, the crank arm 40 being thus heldagainst rotation and the closure member being retained in itsinoperative or open position.

As the vanes 24 continue their movement across the opening communicatingwith the hopper material is delivered into the hopper until it reachesthe level indicated by the dotted line A, when the pressure of thematerial is suflicient to swing the plate 26 to the full line positionagainst the wall of the hopper. The operation is thus reversed, theswitch 32 being opened and the switch 3| being closed. The solenoid 61is now energized, the detent 56 is swung in a counter-clockwisedirection to release the pawl 45, and the nose 46 of the pawl drops inthe next succeeding slot 43 of the wheel 42. The arm 40 is then againrotated through approximately 180 to displace the closure member 35 tothe left, so as to prevent further discharge of material into the hopperll. Rotation of the arm 40 continues until the tail 52 of the pawl 45and the abutment 5| are again received in the recess 51 of the detent55, in which position they are shown in Figure 3. The wheel 42 is oncemore free to rotate, and the crank arm 40 is retained againstdisplacement by the detent 55.

It will be appreciated that by suitable timing of the speed of rotationof the wheel 42 and the linear speed of the conveyor 20, the closuremember 35 may be caused to move at a rate approximating or averaging thelinear speed of the conveyor 20, although the closure member will, ofcourse, execute substantially harmonic motion. It will also beappreciated that by proper location of the slots 43 in the periphery ofthe wheel 42, the initiation of movement of the closure member may becaused to occur substantially as one of the vanes 24 reaches orapproaches closely to the opening above the hopper ll. Thus it ispossible to ensure that substantially all of the material which is beingpropelled along the support l5 by the vane 24 in question will fallcompletely through the opening and will not be wedged or jammed by themovement of the closure member across the opening. The materialpropelled by the next succeeding vane will, on the contrary, beprevented from falling through the opening by reason of the fact that thpreceding vane and the closure member move together across the opening.This is a feature which is especially useful in connection with thefeeding of tobacco to cutting machines since the tobacco is, by itsnature, likely to jam at this point if not properly fed and discharged.

The material may, if desired, be fed to the supply hopper I1 in quantityjust suflicient to ensure the delivery of an adequate supply of materialto all of the machines. In this event, the closure member which controlsthe supply of material to the last machine in the row will be held ininoperative position nearly continuously, by reason of the fact thatmost of the material is delivered to one or more of the precedingmachines before reaching the final machine. Other methods of employingthe apparatus herein described, such as would normally be practiced byone skilled in the art, are contemplated as part of the instantinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus for feeding tobacco and like materials, the combinationwith an elongated support for the material having a plurality ofopenings therein spaced lengthwise of the support, a conveyor havingspaced vanes for moving the material lengthwise of said support toeffect discharge thereof through said openings, discharge hoppers, onecommunicating with each opening, closure means associated with eachopening for displacement from an inoperative to an operative position inthe direction of movement of said conveyor, and means associated witheach hopper and the associated closure means and responsive to variationin level of material in the hopper for automatically effectingdisplacement of said closure means, both to and from operative position,to maintain the level of material in the hopper within predeterminedlimits, said last named means including mechanism driven in timedrelation with said conveyor for effecting displacement of said closuremeans to operative position at substantially the linear speed of saidconveyor.

2. In apparatus for feeding tobacco and like materials, the combinationwith an elongated support for the material having a plurality ofopenings therein spaced lengthwise of the support, a conveyor havingspaced vanes for moving the material lengthwise of said support toeffect discharge thereof through said openings, discharge hoppers, onecommunicating with each opening, closure means associated with eachopening for displacement from an inoperative to an operative position inthe direction of movement of said conveyor, and means associated witheach hopper and the associated closure means and responsive to variationin level of material in the hopper for automatically effectingdisplacement of said closure means, both to and from operative position,to maintain the level of material in the hopper within predeterminedlimits, said last named means including mechanism driven in timedrelation with said conveyor for efiecting displacement of said closuremeans to operative position at substantially the linear speed of saidconveyor, and for initiating such displacement when one of said vanesreaches the leading edge of that opening with which the said closuremeans is associated.

CLAIBORNE W. GOOCH, JR.

